Celtic’s bench was a talking point following the conclusion of the St Mirren game on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers had a few big guns on the bench, including Luke McCowan, James Forrest, Auston Trusty and Arne Engels, to name a few.
Despite that, Celtic still secured a 1-0 win over St Mirren and opened the season with three points, with McCowan making another impact from the bench.
But whilst Celtic’s 2024 summer signing rightfully earned the flowers for his performance, Barry Ferguson wanted to give another familiar name the praise.
Celtic look better with James Forrest on the pitch
Hyunjun Yang started on the right flank for Celtic, with Nicolas Kuhn out of the door after joining Como this summer.
But just before the hour mark, Forrest was introduced into the action, and Ferguson liked what he saw from the Celtic’s all-time decorated player.
Ferguson thinks Celtic ‘look better’ when the 34-year-old is on the pitch, and he doesn’t care if his age is a factor as to why he might not be starting more games, as he told Go Radio.
Charlie Mulgrew: “When James Forrest comes on, he changes the game by being really direct and driving across the pitch. He ends up having a hand in the goal.”
Ferguson added: “I think Celtic look better when James Forrest comes on. You (Mulgrew) played with him, and you know him.
“I don’t care about his age. He’s just direct, and I just think Celtic look like a better team.”
Forrest’s stats vs St Mirren
You can’t argue that Forrest did more during the half an hour he was on the pitch than what Yang did during his hour.
It’s just a case of whether or not it has earned Forrest a place in the starting XI for Celtic’s clash against Aberdeen this Sunday.
But either way, WhoScored provided him with a rating of 6.09.
- Shots: 1
- Passes: 25
- PA%: 80
- Crosses: 5
- Accurate Long Balls: 1
- Touches: 33
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
